Diving For Pearls
by The PalletShipping Ninja
Summary: All Amethyst wanted was for Pearl to loosen up a bit. (pearlmethyst if you squint)


All Amethyst wanted was for Pearl to loosen up a bit.

_Diving For Pearls_

It's dusk when Amethyst leaves the confines of her room and saunters into the kitchen area. Pearl has been sat on the bar stools reading the local newspaper all afternoon, and she is halfway through a crossword which is hardly challenging in the least when Amethyst pours cups for the both of them with a beaming smile.

"_You_, making tea? What exactly is this?" Pearl asks, wrinkling up her nose, as Amethyst ungracefully pushes a teacup towards her. Amethyst shrugs, her face the epitome of innocence.

"Some old Japanese drink I picked up when I took Steven to that theme park yesterday. We stopped off at an Asian supermarket and it looked good." She raises her eyebrows at Pearl's sceptical expression. "Don't look at me like that. I would have gotten food but since you always complain about eating so much, I figured you'd at least appreciate some refined liquor."

"This is alcohol?" Pearl frowns. "Why'd you put it in the teapot, then?"

"It's supposed to be served hot! That's what the guy at the checkout said, anyway." Amethyst purses her lips. "Come on, don't be such a stick in the mud. Try some!"

"You know I'm not good at handling alcohol, Amethyst," Pearl mutters. With a sigh Amethyst throws her hands up.

"No, I don't! Because you've never even touched a drop in your entire life! You even refused to drink when we were toasting Rose and Greg after we found out about Steven."

"That's because I wasn't exactly thrilled in the first place," Pearl deadpans, although in retrospect she feels a little ashamed, given how attached she has become to Steven's presence in her life. "Anyway, I suppose I could have a little, since we aren't going on a mission while Garnet is out, and Steven is playing a video game upstairs..." She hesitates. "Though, is it very responsible...?"

"Aw, come on, Pearl! It's not like the content level in this drink is particularly high, anyway." Amethyst pouts. "Look, I'm pretty good at holding the juice, so you knock yourself out and I'll watch Steven."

"I don't trust _you_ with watching Steven," Pearl says tartly, without too much heart behind the words. "Look, I'll only have one drink. I don't particularly like consuming fluids anymore than I do solids, but since it's a gift..."

"That's the spirit!" Amethyst chortles, clapping Pearl on the back. "Bottoms up!"

* * *

By the time Steven finishes the final cut scene in Golf Quest II the sky is dark and it's started to rain. Usually Pearl brings up hot chocolate to him around this time of night but he yelled that it was an important point in the game and she couldn't disturb him until he was done, so she'd tactfully kept her distance. Figuring she must already be in her room, he climbs out of bed and makes for the staircase. What he doesn't expect is the sound that tingles in his ears as he reaches the kitchen. _Laughter._

"You're so out of it, Pearl. I thought crystal gems were meant to have a high tolerance? Me, Garnet and Rose always did."

"Ahahaha, er, well, I – hahaha, I, I don't think this was as weak as you _shaid_ it was... I'm _sure_ I have a... a higher tolerance than this!"

"Pearl...?" A bewildered Steven stares at the normally pale gem, whose face is bluer than he's ever seen it (save that one time Amethyst 'accidentally' pulled her shorts down during a battle and nearly lost an eye as a result). Her eyes, unfocused, squint as she scrutinises Steven, and she beams lopsidedly.

"H-Heeeey, Steven," she laughs, reaching over and running her hand over the top of his head sloppily. She smells strange, and Steven shrinks back. Amethyst hoots with laughter.

"Leave him be, Pearl, you're scaring him!"

"Am not!" She rests her head on the counter, smiling at him with her mouth slightly agape. "St-Steven. How wash your game?"

"Fine..." He sides over to Amethyst, who smells similar, although seems to be behaving normally enough. "What's wrong with Pearl?" he whispers in a hushed tone. Amethyst grins.

"Oh, nothing, Steven, she's just a bit drunk."

"What? Am not! Am _not_ that drunk!" Pearl pouts, actually _pouts_, and then reaches over and pulls Steven close to her. "Shteven, that Amethyst, she told me it was a weak drink! When it was strong!"

"Ahh! Pearl! I can't breathe!" Steven waves his arms around wildly, and Amethyst leans forward and pries Pearl's arms away from Steven.

"Come on, P, lay off Steven. He's afraid of your vice grip when you aren't holding back."

"Hey, _Schteven_, wanna hear a secret?" She leans in close, grinning from ear to ear, then says, "You're my _favourite_!"

The alcohol is strong on her breath and Steven squirms, eager to get away. He's never seen the gems like this before. The only time he saw anyone in this way was one Christmas a couple years back, when a mushy Christmas song played on the TV and his father drank himself stupid talking about how wonderful his mother was and what a shame it was that Steven had never met her because apparently she once performed a wonderful rendition of Jingle Bell Rock 'after hours'. (He never learned what 'after hours' meant, since Garnet and Amethyst whisked Greg away immediately while Pearl entertained Steven with making a symmetrical mountain of torn wrapping paper.)

"I think I'm going to bed," Steven announces, grabbing the milk from the fridge and pouring a glass. He glances worriedly at Pearl, who is now draped over Amethyst and muttering something about sake being 'not at all what she expected from a hot drink'.

"G'night, Steven," coos Amethyst, shifting Pearl's weight enough to wave at him. "Don't let the centipeetles bite!"

As his footsteps fade Amethyst glances down at Pearl, whose head is leaning against her chest.

"Am, Amethyst?" Pearl glances up at her through heavy eyes. "I wanna go to my room..."

"Augh, all right, your highness," Amethyst ribs, though she figures it's karma for getting Pearl drunk in the first place. The two stand slowly and both realise how much they've actually consumed, teetering, dangerously close to falling. Amethyst sticks out her foot and lets out a guffaw when she's sure they're stable. It's a little difficult to balance the two of them since Pearl is so gangly and intent on leaning on her _as much as physically possible._

"What, you can't walk two steps by yourself?" Amethyst retorted when Pearl let out a groan of protest.

Getting into the room was a task in itself, but eventually they staggered up (rather ungracefully, although grace was something Pearl was more invested in, in Amethyst's opinion) to one of Pearl's tall fountains.

"All right, Pearly-girl, here you are."

"Gems are genderless beings. Our gender is an illushion," Pearl states, watching Amethyst with a dreamy look on her face.

"Ugh, whatever, spare me the lecture. Can I go now?"

"Lie down with me?"

"In the water?" Reluctantly Amethyst does, watching Pearl's unfocused eyes with mild interest.

"Amethyst...?"

"Yeah P?"

"...I'm sorry about before." Pearl closes her eyes, her face still a mottled blue. "I'm sorry about the... what happened in, in Kindergarten."

Amethyst stills.

"...We don't have to talk about that."

"I'm sorry," Pearl repeats, and tears are gathering in her eyes.

Amethyst sighs. The entire reason she'd bought the alcohol was in the hope that it would get Pearl to loosen up some; since the incident at the Kindergarten she's been more protective over Amethyst than usual, hanging around like she often does to Steven, watching over anxiously for a sign of a crack in Amethyst's mood, a dark turn or a wheel spinning. It's driving her up the wall.

"I know you're sorry." Amethyst shrugs, squeezing her eyes shut. Even if it feels weird lying back in the water this way, the rushing of the continuously overflowing water is somewhat calming. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have taken Steven there, and we shoulda just talked instead of beating each other up."

"I's not your fault," Pearl sobs beside her. "You shouldn't. Um. Y'shouldn't feel... like it is."

Any other time and Pearl's struggle to articulate would have amused Amethyst (serves her right, the big mouth!) but seeing her like this is... scary. Amethyst only wanted her to chill out. Seeing her this vulnerable... Amethyst feels small.

"Aw, jeez, Pearl." They're spooning, Amethyst's arms wrapped around Pearl's skinny frame, and she presses her face into Pearl's back as sobs make her body tremble. They dissolve into hiccups, and eventually, laboured breathing.

Gems don't need to sleep, but sometimes it feels good. Amethyst supposes Pearl should work off the hangover, anyway.

She isn't sure how long she's going to keep wallowing under this storm cloud that has been brewing for... at least 600 years. Hopefully it won't take her that long to move past it. But she knows better than to lash out like that again. Even if Pearl _was_ insensitive.

Sighing, she shuts her eyes and allows the water to wash her away.


End file.
